Orlando Magic stunt performer hospitalized after fall

A member of the Orlando Magic Stunt Team fell and hit her head between the first and second quarters of the Magic's game against the New York Knicks Tuesday night and was taken to a hospital.

Jamie Woode, 31, a former University of Central Florida cheerleader, was moving her arms and legs after the fall and blew a kiss to the crowd as she was being taken away on a stretcher.

The extent of her injuries was not immediately known.

Video of the accident, which happened at about 7:35 p.m., shows Woode being hoisted onto the shoulders of a male stunt-team member, losing her footing and falling backward. The video ends with her on the ground on her elbows and knees, her forehead resting against the arena's parquet floor.

Players and the crowd, estimated at more than 18,000 people, looked on quietly as Magic team doctor Craig Mintzer, athletic trainer Keon Weise and several Orlando Fire Department emergency workers attended to her for several minutes.

Magic coach Jacque Vaughn brought up the incident at the start of his postgame news conference.

"I think our thoughts and prayers should be acknowledged for the young lady who fell before we talk about a little game of basketball," Vaughn said. "[We're] hoping and praying that she's OK. That's real life."

Woode was formally lauded nearly a decade ago by then-U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Orlando, for competing with the championship UCF team in spite of a broken fibula.